Two Week Recap (A DNS and Video Crack)

Monday (3/9/15) - 7.54 miles
Tuesday (3/10/15) - 7.54 miles
Thursday (3/12/15) - 8 miles.  I was finally able to run my regular 8 mile loop because most of the snow melted.
Friday (3/13/15) - 8 miles
Saturday (3/14/15) - 5 miles in 40:56, an 8:11 pace at the gym because it was raining.  I actually was registered to run the Kings Park 15k (Here's last year's Kings Park 15k review) that morning, but was not dedicated enough to do it in the rain.

Weekly Total: 35 miles

Monday (3/16/15) - 8 miles
Wednesday (3/18/15) - 8 miles
Saturday (3/21/15) - 3.9 miles.  I started out feeling great.  It snowed overnight and again during the first couple of miles.  The streets looked beautiful, despite my annoyance and boredom with the snow after this white winter.  Unfortunately, by the third mile, my breathing became so labored I needed to cut short my intended 8 miler.  Thursday night I thought my allergies were acting up, but it turned into a bona fide head/chest cold.

Weekly Total: 19.9 miles (!!??....whatever)

I need to stop watching this.  Must...Look...Away....

Shorts!!!

I can't put into words how excited I am to be wearing shorts again!!!  Let me try: Yay!!

Tuesday (3/3/15) - 7.54 miles
Wednesday (3/4/15) - 7.54 miles
Friday (3/6/15) -7.54 miles
Saturday and Sunday - Got caught up in the kids' activities.  Slacker weekend.
Monday (3/9/15) - 7.54 miles.  While running up Seaman Avenue, a woman in a minivan ran a stop sign as she made a right turn onto Seaman.  I almost literally ran into her car.  I gave her my signature "Are you a fucking fuck for brains?" look, but she was denied the pleasure of receiving it because she was completely clueless.  The woman in the car behind her actually stopped alongside me to tell me she saw what happened and also thought the minivan driver was a fucking fuck for brains (she might have used different words).  I passed another runner on Grand Avenue in Baldwin.  He went to give me a high-5.  I reacted too slowly and instead got my shoulder slapped.  Oops.  Great run overall mainly because of the shorts.

Weekly Total Mileage - 30.16 all outdoors

F*@k You, NYC Marathon! (Just Kidding) (A Little)

Thwarted once again from running the New York City Marathon.  This is my third non-consecutive attempt through their total bullshit (no, I'm not bitter!) lottery system.  Other than wanting to run through the greatest city on Earth, this year the marathon falls on my birthday. What better way to spend a birthday than to have one million spectators cheering for you (wow, that sounds kind of needy and pathetic)?  Well, it wasn't meant to be this year.  Perhaps Mary Wittenberg hates me?  Maybe the last time I was rejected and talked a bunch of smack about the New York Road Runners got back to her.  Maybe I shouldn't keep boasting about Boston being the best marathon ever.  Whatever the inexcusable, spiteful reason (because that's how I choose to look at it) I did not make it, I won't let it deter me.  I will run that Godforsaken race if it's the last thing I do!  As God as my witness!  (I tend to channel Scarlett O'Hara when I'm feeling dramatic.  Right now Tara's Theme is playing in the back of my head as I pump my fist in the air)

Moving on.  The St. George Marathon registration opens April 1.  This is also a lottery, but my chances of getting in are much greater than the aforementioned dumb (uh huh) race.  I actually am excited about running this race.  I camped in Salt Lake City while driving across country with a girlfriend after college and it is one of the most beautiful (and cleanest) places on the planet.  The scenery is magnificent and the course is seriously downhill.  You lose 2,500 feet in altitude from start to finish.  This isn't as easy as it sounds because pounding down hills can shred your quadricep muscles.  But, I'm always game for a challenge.

Giddyup!

The Run-by

I ran 10.6 miles on Saturday at the State University of New York, Old Westbury campus.  One loop on the campus' main ring road is four miles.  If you venture off to the Empire State College campus, you can add another two miles of beautiful horse country.  I like to do the six mile loop, followed by the four.  The campus is a popular venue for cyclists and runners who like to incorporate hills into their training.  There weren't too many others out there at 2:30pm on a Saturday afternoon.  I did encounter one cyclist riding in the opposite direction as me (because I was running against traffic and he was riding with it)...four times.  The first time we passed each other, we waved and smiled politely.  The second time it was just a nod and a smile.  The third time, just a smile.  The fourth time was, "Enough already.  I'm sick of you."

Generally, I'm very friendly when I see other runners in my neighborhood, a common occurrence.  There are a lot of runners in my town and it's nice to acknowledge their efforts when we're pounding the pavement together.  Sometimes I know them, sometimes they're familiar faces without names, or other times they're complete strangers.  I don't usually repeat loops, so it is rare that I will see the same runner more than once on a particular run.  Most runners return the wave, but sometimes there are those who are in "the Zone" and don't want to be interrupted by niceties.  Seeing the same person twice is kind of fun.  It's like, "Hey you!  You're doing a long workout!  Cool!  Me too."  Seeing him a third time is like, "Yup, we're still at it."  A fourth time?  "Is this the only street you know or what?!"

How do you handle the "run-by"?  Are you a social moron like myself who sometimes feels awkward in these situations?  Do you wave or do you ignore?

Sunday (2/22/15) - 6 miles

Monday (2/23/15) - 7.54 miles

Wednesday (2/25/15) -7.54 miles

Thursday (2/26/15) - 6.4 miles

Saturday ( 2/28/15) - 10.61 miles

Total Mileage - 38.1 miles (so close to 40....!)